Israeli Forces Uncover Weapons Tunnel and Arrest Four in Qalqilya

Israeli police and the IDF discovered a large weapons tunnel in Qalqilya last Wednesday following a tip about a weapons cache. A rapid joint operation led to the arrest of four suspects: two Israeli Arabs and two Palestinian Arabs. During an interrogation at the scene, police found the tunnel entrance, concealed by burlap and equipped with a surveillance system.

Lt. Col. Tsachi Ben-Hemo, who oversees investigative and intelligence work in the Samaria region, described descending into the tunnel and finding various weapons, ammunition, and a bag of potassium-based fertilizer, a substance used in explosives. IDF specialists later arrived to examine the tunnel's contents.

The army reported that the tunnel contained an M-16 assault rifle, a hunting rifle, a pistol, and ammunition. The IDF stated that the tunnel was a "standalone" site used solely as a weapons storage for criminal elements, not adapted for terror attacks or connecting surface locations.